China: MARA Issues New and Renewed GE Biosafety Certificates

On January 13, 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) announced the issuance of new and renewed biosafety certificates for genetically engineered (GE) events. The announcement follows the conclusion of the National Biosafety Committee (NBC) meeting in December 2022 and includes eight new and two renewed certificates issued for GE crops approved for import as processing materials and six new and 32 renewed certificates for domestic GE crop cultivation and production. Notably, the new certificates approved for import processing include first time approvals for GE alfalfa and sugarcane as well as several events that began the application process more than a decade ago. The validity period of new and renewed biosafety certificates is five years.